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Twin girls more interested in blocking sleds than baby dolls at the annual Rebel Bowl

Twin girls more interested in blocking sleds than baby dolls at the annual Rebel Bowl

Carl Elmore

From left, twins Emma and Megan Snider, both 9, played in the Rebel Bowl for the Richmond Hill Wildcats 10-and-under team. (Photo by Carl Elmore/Savannah Morning News)

Carl Elmore

Effingham All Star Tyler Griffin (4) tries to turn the corner past Richmond Hill Wildcat German Lopez (75) during their eight-and-under game in the Rebel Bowl. (Photo by Carl Elmore/Savannah Morning News)

Carl Elmore

Richmond Hill Wildcat Gregory Freightman (6) tries to get through heavy traffic during the Wildcats' eight-and-under game with the Effingham County All Stars in the Rebel Bowl. (Photo by Carl Elmore/Savannah Morning News)

Emma and Megan Snider don't want to hear that girls aren't allowed to play football.

Not only can the 9-year-old twins from Savannah play, but they can knock a boy's block off if he teases them too much.

Last year the Snider girls couldn't find a team in Savannah that would let them join, so their parents, Paul and Chrissy Snider, signed them up for the 8-and-under team in Richmond Hill. On Monday the pigtailed Emma and Megan waited patiently in the stands at Garden City Stadium to play for Richmond Hill's 10-and-under team in one of the late games in the 45th Annual Rebel Bowl youth football tournament presented by the Garden City Parks and Recreation Department.

"We wanted to play because our dad played football," said Emma, who starts at middle linebacker for the Wildcats. "We're good athletes, and we wanted to show boys what we're made of. We wanted to show that boys aren't always better than girls at sports.

"It's really fun to get out there in full pads and start hitting, because we get frustrated and, then take it out on them in practice or games it's another team," Emma added.

As far as the Sniders know, Emma and Megan are the only girls playing football in the 10-and-under division of the team's youth league, which will take them all over coastal and south Georgia for as many as 15 games this fall. Sometimes it takes boys a few minutes to accept tackling girls, but Emma and Megan are motivated to play harder when they are teased or heckled.

Ready to play

"They are both pretty aggressive, and they don't shy away from being hit or hitting anyone," said Paul Snider, who is an assistant coach for the 10-and-under Wildcats. "It doesn't take long for the boys to get used to them being on the field, because (the boys) get tired of getting hit. Players on other teams and even one coach this year teased them, but what's been really great is how our boys will rally around (Emma and Megan) and defend them."

In the last seven games, the Wildcats are 5-2 and Emma's defense has virtually stonewalled opposing offenses. One coach earlier this year joked before a game that it was a shame Richmond Hill had to fill its roster with girls, but the joke wasn't very funny after the Wildcats beat his team handily.

"(Emma and Megan) are two of the hardest hitters on our team," said Richmond Hill coach Richard Manning. "We played one team that had a little bit of a hard time hitting (Emma and Megan), but other than that everyone has treated them like any other player. "With this age group, they're still developing so no matter the gender or whatever, you're teaching them the game and by the end of the season they're all equal."

All-around athletes

The girls spend Sunday afternoons curled up on the couch with Paul watching National Football League games, but they are by no means one-trick athletes. Both girls will receive junior black belts in Tae Kwon Do on Saturday, and they have both competed and won in national level Tae Kwon Do tournaments.

"They're big sports fans, and they've been tackling each other since they were old enough to walk," said Chrissy Snider. "Just because they're girls, that shouldn't matter. Once they put on pads they're just football players."

Emma has turned into a defensive leader for the Wildcats, and Manning frequently points out her excellent tackling technique during practice. Meanwhile, Megan is playing cornerback on defense and blocking back on offense while also learning to punt.

"As they get older, we may have to reevaluate as the boys get older and bigger," said Paul Snider. "But for now they're happy, they're having fun and they love playing football."